Environmental pressures, climate change, biodiversity, species protection, and pollution.
Foodthink says Aside from being eaten, becoming waste is the final destination for a portion of all food. According to estimates by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, one-third of all food globally is ultimately lost or wasted, with a significant proportion ending up in the bin. Food waste, which…
Foodthink Says Last Monday, we shared why more than a dozen young people decided to hit pause on their city lives. So why, instead of choosing to ‘lie flat’, have they headed to the countryside to learn farming and embrace a more labour-intensive, challenging way of life? Here are a…
This episode was recorded in the Alxa desert in Inner Mongolia by Qihua, Foodthink’s researcher for climate change and ecological smallholder farming, together with two guests. Recorded at the end of August 2022, the three of them sat beneath a large tree in a Tengger Desert oasis. In the background,…
In the summer and autumn of 2021, Beijing endured an exceptionally long flood season lasting 122 days, with rainfall across six northern provinces and municipalities – including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan and Shaanxi – reaching its highest level since 1961. That autumn, I began an online master’s programme in…
Foodthink Says As the commercial seed industry grows ever more dominant, traditional farmer varieties and heritage seeds are increasingly pushed to the margins. Their loss represents more than just a decline in biodiversity; it signals the gradual erosion of diverse local food traditions and cultural heritage. Today, however, a growing…
This episode was recorded in the deserts of Alxa, Inner Mongolia, by Qihua, who oversees climate change and small-scale ecological farming research at Foodthink, alongside two guests. At the end of August 2022, the three sat beneath a large tree in an oasis within the Tengger Desert. You might catch…
In 2021, the reality docuseries Clarkson’s Farm, chronicling an irascible old farmer’s attempts to run a working farm, scored a stellar 9.6 out of 10 on Douban. Season Two is set to premiere on 10 February this year. Why does wealthy, somewhat irascible old chap Jeremy Clarkson—who once hosted the…
Foodthink Says How exactly is agriculture being shaped by climate change? Foodthink has already published a series of articles exploring this question. Today, we share insights from a grower working on the front lines. Zhao Fei graduated from the College of Agronomy at China Agricultural University before joining Pingren Farm,…
For most people, 2022 was a real rollercoaster of highs and lows. Our colleagues at Foodthink shared the same sentiments. Our work plans shifted from the bold ambitions of 2021—aiming to tackle every challenge head-on—to a state of anxious uncertainty.
